Any Ex-Conservatives on here?

[Wicked Jester]

The difference between the Democrats and Republicans.

Democrats will kill the goose that lays the golden eggs so everyone can have one meal.

The Republicans will plant and tend the filelds that will produce crops that will feed everyone for many meals.

One shouldn't cut off their nose to spite their face.

Really?

Frankly, the only reason why we have an abudnance in this country is because progressive Democrats and Republicans realized government needs to work for everyone.

DO you think we'd have effective farms if we had to wait around for private companies to put the rural areas on the power grid? Nope. Government did that. They built the interstate highway system (that was Ike's idea. A republican for infrastructure instead of Dressage Ponies? Inconceivable!)

When I was growing up, my parents said Democrats gave us wars and Republicans gave us recessions.

Now Republicans give us both.

Yeah, go spew that BS to the many family farmers up in the Central Valley here in Cali, who are going out of business by the day, because the idiotic libprog Dems have shut off their water supply to protect a species of guppy....A ******* GUPPY!.....A stupid god damn fish that can be easily farmed raised, and never suffer from extinction......Yeah, those libprog dems and rinos sure do a good job of working for everybody.

 

[Toro]

The difference between the Democrats and Republicans.

Democrats will kill the goose that lays the golden eggs so everyone can have one meal.

The Republicans will plant and tend the filelds that will produce crops that will feed everyone for many meals.

One shouldn't cut off their nose to spite their face.

Really?

Frankly, the only reason why we have an abudnance in this country is because progressive Democrats and Republicans realized government needs to work for everyone.

DO you think we'd have effective farms if we had to wait around for private companies to put the rural areas on the power grid? Nope. Government did that. They built the interstate highway system (that was Ike's idea. A republican for infrastructure instead of Dressage Ponies? Inconceivable!)

When I was growing up, my parents said Democrats gave us wars and Republicans gave us recessions.

Now Republicans give us both.

Yeah, go spew that BS to the many family farmers up in the Central Valley here in Cali, who are going out of business by the day, because the idiotic libprog Dems have shut off their water supply to protect a species of guppy....A ******* GUPPY!.....A stupid god damn fish that can be easily farmed raised, and never suffer from extinction......Yeah, those libprog dems and rinos sure do a good job of working for everybody.

This is an example of why when I hear "California," I think "basket case."

That's really, really fucked up.

 

[earlycuyler]

I personally know many ex-liberals who were avid Obama supporters until they saw the hard facts and truth regarding his administration.

But I've never seen any educated conservatives "open their eyes" and turn to liberalism.

Another example is economist Thomas Sowell who used to be a hard-core supporter of Marxism in his early years; even while studying under Milton Friedman. Today, he's as Right as can be.

So, are there any ex-conservatives on this board? I'd like to hear your story.

Conservative is what Republicans call them selves now in an attempt to save there party. I hate any and all political parties except for then called " the normal people party".

 

[blackhawk]

I personally know many ex-liberals who were avid Obama supporters until they saw the hard facts and truth regarding his administration.

But I've never seen any educated conservatives "open their eyes" and turn to liberalism.

Another example is economist Thomas Sowell who used to be a hard-core supporter of Marxism in his early years; even while studying under Milton Friedman. Today, he's as Right as can be.

So, are there any ex-conservatives on this board? I'd like to hear your story.

There are some who say they used to be conservative who are now liberal I have my doubts they were ever conservative though.

 

[JoeB131]

[Yeah, go spew that BS to the many family farmers up in the Central Valley here in Cali, who are going out of business by the day, because the idiotic libprog Dems have shut off their water supply to protect a species of guppy....A ******* GUPPY!.....A stupid god damn fish that can be easily farmed raised, and never suffer from extinction......Yeah, those libprog dems and rinos sure do a good job of working for everybody.

It isn't their water supply. It's nature's water supply.

As for this "guppy", as you say, the fact is, overfarming of california DESERTS is destroying the Delta Smelt's habitat. It's a whole ecosystem that's in danger, not just one species of fish.

Delta Smelt Facts, May 2007 | Earthjustice

The smelt are an indicator of the health of the Bay-Delta ecosystem, and are representative of a much larger decline in delta fisheries, including striped bass, longfin smelt, threadfin shad, and others. The delta functions as the hub of the state's water system, as a unique ecosystem, as a vital component in the state's fishing and agricultural economies, and as home, recreational mecca, and many other things, for millions more Californians. As stated in the recent PPIC report on the delta: "Most Californians rely on the Delta for something, whether they know it or not." [1]

Oh, wait. Can't talk to "Conservatives" about Science. God has a plan. It involves rich people making money. Keep looking at the shiny object.

 

[JWBooth]

I personally know many ex-liberals who were avid Obama supporters until they saw the hard facts and truth regarding his administration.

But I've never seen any educated conservatives "open their eyes" and turn to liberalism.

Another example is economist Thomas Sowell who used to be a hard-core supporter of Marxism in his early years; even while studying under Milton Friedman. Today, he's as Right as can be.

So, are there any ex-conservatives on this board? I'd like to hear your story.

If one is going to become angry enough to quit either faction of the big government party the likely reason is that said faction didn't live up to the advertising.
In the case of the Republicrats, they went for years espousing the devolvement of power out of D.C. only to increase it exponentially. For ex "conservatives" this would hardly be a reason for turning liberal.

 

[Obamanation]

I knew this thing smelt of gov't overstepping and cali econuts


Energy & EnvironmentDelta Water Rules Smelt of Extremism
By: Steven Greenhut

SACRAMENTO – If you want to understand the fundamental things wrong with our nation and California, in particular, you ought to peruse the 140-page opinion recently issued by Judge Oliver Wanger in the “Consolidated Delta Smelt Cases.” It describes many of the most frustrating elements in our society – abuses of federal authority, bureaucratic micromanagement of our lives and political zealotry masquerading as science. The case also shows the indifference to the insanity by most Americans, who wouldn’t know a Delta smelt from a cod fillet.

In an ideal world, no one outside of bait stores ought to know anything about a fish often described as a tiny minnow, but it’s about time that Americans start paying attention to the cynicism of an environmental movement that will use any critter to justify its main goal: stopping growth.

The case ought to be called the “Smelt v. the People” because it involves the federal government’s attempt to continue diverting massive amounts of water from human uses such as farming to environmental uses. We all want to protect the environment, but in this case that means letting precious water run into the ocean through the San Francisco Bay, wasted in an arguably futile effort to reduce the salinity of the waters of the Sacramento Delta so that this smelt – actually a subspecies that might not even be endangered – might thrive. As the judge ruled, the process is based on faulty science, and some officials have acted like zealots, none of which should surprise anyone familiar with global warming and other environmental debates.

An even better title on this legal case would be “Environmentalists and the Government v. the People.” Fortunately, Judge Wanger issued a hard-hitting ruling that slapped down the feds and restores some balance to the process.

As CalWatchdog reporter Wayne Lusvardi explained, “He ruled the federal government’s case was too small to grant a stay – a court-ordered continuation – of the man-made ‘X2′ line where freshwater and ocean water currently mix in the Sacramento Delta at 74 kilometers (46 miles) from the Golden Gate Bridge, near a spot between the cities of Pittsburg and Antioch.” The line is crucial – the closer it is set to the Bay, the more Delta water must be used to dilute salt rather than for farm, residential and commercial uses.

That line moves back and forth depending on rainfall. We used to understand that nature would determine such things, but these days policy-makers believe that government can move mountains – or at least change salt levels in the Delta, reverse climate changes and restore the economy with massive subsidies. I mention the latter as a reminder of how futile this whole process can be. If government can’t even jump-start the economy, what hope is there it can change the natural processes of the Earth?

But the government is capable of messing up real lives in the process of trying to make grandiose changes to the ecosystem. “While farms and businesses are starved of water, more than 81 billion gallons of water have been allowed to flow out to the ocean – off-limits to human use or consumption, thanks to federal regulators’ environmental extremism.

“That’s enough to put 85,000 acres of farmland back into production,” explained the Pacific Legal Foundation, which filed suit against the federal Delta smelt plan.

There’s debate over how many jobs these water cutbacks have cost, with environmentalists insisting that the drought had more to do with the problem than the smelt regulations, but even the most conservative numbers put the job losses in the thousands. Drive up Interstate 5 on the western edge of the San Joaquin Valley, and one sees the signs of despair – the farmers who posted “Congress-created dust bowl” signs on farms gone to seed. We can argue numbers, but the smelt restrictions have certainly exacerbated a bad situation in a region where unemployment is rampant.

As Judge Wanger ruled, “There is essentially no biological evidence to support the necessity of the specific 74-kilometer requirement set to be triggered in this ‘wet’ water year. The agencies still ‘don’t get it.’ They continue to believe their ‘right to be mistaken’ excuses precise and competent scientific analysis for actions they know will wreak havoc on California’s water supply.”

Furthermore, he ruled, “Federal defendants completely abdicated their responsibility to consider reasonable alternatives … that would not only protect the [smelt], but would also minimize the adverse impact on humans and the human environment. The result is … a one-sided, single purpose [rule] that inflicts drastic consequences on California water users, a situation [federal regulation] prohibits.”

This is great news, although the government and the Natural Resources Defense Council are sure to appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court. But there are so many reasons to oppose the federal smelt protections. For instance, PLF rightly criticized the government’s reliance on the Interstate Commerce Clause to regulate a local fish. PLF and the judge also questioned the practicality of the rules given that there isn’t much evidence they are saving the little fish.

But while the ruling documents the insanity of the current process and the thinking behind the regulators and environmental activists who drive such policy, it also offers seeds of hope. It’s hard to fathom how our supposedly free and independent nation ceded so much authority to government regulators and judges. Maybe this is a reminder that Americans ought to put at least as much effort into reversing this authoritarian trend as they have into saving a tiny minnow

 

[JoeB131]

It should point out that the actions to save the Delta Smelt were taken under the BUSH adminstration, not the Obama Adminstration.

Endangered status

The delta smelt was once a common fish in the Sacramento-San Joaquin estuary. The population is much smaller than it was historically, and the species was listed in 1993 as threatened under both the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) and Federal Endangered Species Act (FESA).[7] Critical habitat was listed for delta smelt on December 19, 1994.[8] In 2008, the California Fish and Game Commission moved to uplist delta smelt to endangered under the CESA.
[edit]Court protection

On August 31, 2007, Federal Judge Oliver Wanger of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California protected the delta smelt by severely curtailing human use water deliveries from the San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta from December to June.[9] These are the pumps at the Banks Pumping Plant that send water through the California Aqueduct to Central and Southern California for agricultural and residential use.
Although there have been allegations that this protection has hurt California's agricultural sector, with the devastation of hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland and the loss of tens of thousands of jobs in the Central Valley,[10] a 2009 United States Department of Agriculture study estimated that job losses due to smelt protection were closer to 5,000.[11] An additional 16,000 job losses in the Central Valley were attributed to the drought California had been experiencing in recent years.[11]

 

[Article 15]

It should point out that the actions to save the Delta Smelt were taken under the BUSH adminstration, not the Obama Adminstration.

Endangered status

The delta smelt was once a common fish in the Sacramento-San Joaquin estuary. The population is much smaller than it was historically, and the species was listed in 1993 as threatened under both the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) and Federal Endangered Species Act (FESA).[7] Critical habitat was listed for delta smelt on December 19, 1994.[8] In 2008, the California Fish and Game Commission moved to uplist delta smelt to endangered under the CESA.
[edit]Court protection

On August 31, 2007, Federal Judge Oliver Wanger of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California protected the delta smelt by severely curtailing human use water deliveries from the San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta from December to June.[9] These are the pumps at the Banks Pumping Plant that send water through the California Aqueduct to Central and Southern California for agricultural and residential use.
Although there have been allegations that this protection has hurt California's agricultural sector, with the devastation of hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland and the loss of tens of thousands of jobs in the Central Valley,[10] a 2009 United States Department of Agriculture study estimated that job losses due to smelt protection were closer to 5,000.[11] An additional 16,000 job losses in the Central Valley were attributed to the drought California had been experiencing in recent years.[11]

Bullshit. That happened under Obama. Just like the economy crashing, TARP, the Afghanistan war, and Cheers getting cancelled.

 

[Obamanation]

So you are saying that Bush led the charge here?

It should point out that the actions to save the Delta Smelt were taken under the BUSH adminstration, not the Obama Adminstration.

Endangered status

The delta smelt was once a common fish in the Sacramento-San Joaquin estuary. The population is much smaller than it was historically, and the species was listed in 1993 as threatened under both the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) and Federal Endangered Species Act (FESA).[7] Critical habitat was listed for delta smelt on December 19, 1994.[8] In 2008, the California Fish and Game Commission moved to uplist delta smelt to endangered under the CESA.
[edit]Court protection

On August 31, 2007, Federal Judge Oliver Wanger of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California protected the delta smelt by severely curtailing human use water deliveries from the San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta from December to June.[9] These are the pumps at the Banks Pumping Plant that send water through the California Aqueduct to Central and Southern California for agricultural and residential use.
Although there have been allegations that this protection has hurt California's agricultural sector, with the devastation of hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland and the loss of tens of thousands of jobs in the Central Valley,[10] a 2009 United States Department of Agriculture study estimated that job losses due to smelt protection were closer to 5,000.[11] An additional 16,000 job losses in the Central Valley were attributed to the drought California had been experiencing in recent years.[11]

 

[JoeB131]

It should point out that the actions to save the Delta Smelt were taken under the BUSH adminstration, not the Obama Adminstration.

Endangered status

The delta smelt was once a common fish in the Sacramento-San Joaquin estuary. The population is much smaller than it was historically, and the species was listed in 1993 as threatened under both the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) and Federal Endangered Species Act (FESA).[7] Critical habitat was listed for delta smelt on December 19, 1994.[8] In 2008, the California Fish and Game Commission moved to uplist delta smelt to endangered under the CESA.
[edit]Court protection

On August 31, 2007, Federal Judge Oliver Wanger of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California protected the delta smelt by severely curtailing human use water deliveries from the San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta from December to June.[9] These are the pumps at the Banks Pumping Plant that send water through the California Aqueduct to Central and Southern California for agricultural and residential use.
Although there have been allegations that this protection has hurt California's agricultural sector, with the devastation of hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland and the loss of tens of thousands of jobs in the Central Valley,[10] a 2009 United States Department of Agriculture study estimated that job losses due to smelt protection were closer to 5,000.[11] An additional 16,000 job losses in the Central Valley were attributed to the drought California had been experiencing in recent years.[11]

Bullshit. That happened under Obama. Just like the economy crashing, TARP, the Afghanistan war, and Cheers getting cancelled.

You left out sinking the Titanic and kidnapping the Lindbergh Baby. Somehow, those are Obama's fault, too!

 

[editec]

Any Ex-Conservatives on here?

Me. I was a hard assed conservative from about 63 till about 68.

I was a liberal from about 68 till about 78.

Mostly, since that time, I've voted or worked on behalf of "liberal" causes, but I often had to stop working with organizations once I found that they were supporting a policy that I thought was simply unworkable.

Post 1978 or so I realized there wasn't any REAL conservative or liberals in power.

There are INSIDERS in power maquerading as one or the other.

 

[there4eyeM]

While feeling a bit like stepping into a pool of alligators, I dare put in my $2.00 (isn't inflation incredible?).

Young, I was very conservative and considered myself as such. I successfully debated in high school in support of Goldwater(!) and sincerely thought he was by far the better candidate, not to mention man.

The years, experiences and living places since then have 'aged the wine'. I certainly do not consider myself conservative. Many views and concepts remain with big adjustments in areas that touch on humanity, the universe, life...

So, I consider myself eclectic, neither 'right' nor 'left' nor even 'center'. I don't recognize myself in any of those categories. My economic ideas are ultra-conservative and totally radical at the same time. Thinking on the subject of the relation of society and government has evolved into dimensions not yet conceived of at 16.

Thus, to address the thread title, ex-conservative.

 

[Article 15]

It should point out that the actions to save the Delta Smelt were taken under the BUSH adminstration, not the Obama Adminstration.

Bullshit. That happened under Obama. Just like the economy crashing, TARP, the Afghanistan war, and Cheers getting cancelled.

You left out sinking the Titanic and kidnapping the Lindbergh Baby. Somehow, those are Obama's fault, too!

John Hinckley was a paid Obama thug.

 

[Obamanation]

Well??? Bush led the charge or you are backing off completely on your line of nonsense?

So you are saying that Bush led the charge here?

It should point out that the actions to save the Delta Smelt were taken under the BUSH adminstration, not the Obama Adminstration.

Endangered status

The delta smelt was once a common fish in the Sacramento-San Joaquin estuary. The population is much smaller than it was historically, and the species was listed in 1993 as threatened under both the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) and Federal Endangered Species Act (FESA).[7] Critical habitat was listed for delta smelt on December 19, 1994.[8] In 2008, the California Fish and Game Commission moved to uplist delta smelt to endangered under the CESA.
[edit]Court protection

On August 31, 2007, Federal Judge Oliver Wanger of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California protected the delta smelt by severely curtailing human use water deliveries from the San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta from December to June.[9] These are the pumps at the Banks Pumping Plant that send water through the California Aqueduct to Central and Southern California for agricultural and residential use.
Although there have been allegations that this protection has hurt California's agricultural sector, with the devastation of hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland and the loss of tens of thousands of jobs in the Central Valley,[10] a 2009 United States Department of Agriculture study estimated that job losses due to smelt protection were closer to 5,000.[11] An additional 16,000 job losses in the Central Valley were attributed to the drought California had been experiencing in recent years.[11]

 

[rightwinger]

I personally know many ex-liberals who were avid Obama supporters until they saw the hard facts and truth regarding his administration.

But I've never seen any educated conservatives "open their eyes" and turn to liberalism.

Another example is economist Thomas Sowell who used to be a hard-core supporter of Marxism in his early years; even while studying under Milton Friedman. Today, he's as Right as can be.

So, are there any ex-conservatives on this board? I'd like to hear your story.

I was raised Conservative and voted Republican for almost 20 years. I am still a registered Republican and was even invited to the Bush Inauguration

I switched over in the mid 90s

 

[kwc57]

Ya mean like the supposedly ex Conservative, now retired real estate agent in my area who habitually starts writing letters to the editor during the election season reading thusly "I've always voted Republican, but the candidacy of this war monger Ronald Reagan....", or "I've always voted Republican but the candidacy of Vice President George HW Bush leaves me a little uneasy.." or "I've always voted Republican but I'm not certain I can vote for the current Republican Candidate Robert Dole...", or "I've always voted Republican, but I just cant bring myself to consider the current candidate George W Bush", or "I've always voted Republican, but John McCain isn't my ideal..."or last time "I've always voted Republican but I somehow can't bring myself to vote for someone with Mitt Romney's qualifications..". That kinda ex Conservative? After lookin at the Democratic Party's political machinations, its long since ceased being the party of all American candidates like FDR, HST, and JFK, but exclusively, today, the party of America hating freeloaders, loafers, and pervs. What person, who, when seeing the American Flag, feels at least a fleeting moment of pride would want to join a party like that?

Case in point: Man who before he would speak at Georgetown or Notre Dame U insisted that all statuary, images or inscriptions to another god other than he be covered up, obliterated or obfuscated posing with nymphomaniac and Heidi Fleiss wannabe Sandra Fluke.

Sandra Fluke Teams Up With Planned Parenthood To Push Obamacare Birth Control Mandate? | Weasel Zippers

JakeFakey sells real estate in your town?